The Blog of Author David Allen

Category: Filmmaking

  • Overwhelmed? Smash Intimidation With a Simple Break-down

    campus life by bcnunnery on sxc.hu
    University of Texas at Austin

    Hundred of people apply to the Radio-Film-TV program at University of Texas every year.

    Many of them do this because they want to learn to direct.

    Hopefully, whether they get in or not, they will learn the real truth about valuable skills: It doesn’t work that way.

    Directing is not a skill. It is a combination of skills.

    A novice can look at Face/Off and think, ‘Man, I could never direct like John Woo. He is SO much better than I’ll ever be.’

    Directing is not just directing. It is audio recording, cinematography, writing, storytelling, location scouting, organizational leadership, scheduling, human resources, set design, shot choices, editing, special effects, lighting. I could go on.

    If you were asked to direct, it could put you in panic mode.

    However, if I asked you to read a book about writing, and you learned that most plots have a three-act structure, you’d be better at writing stories.

    If you spent a day on an independent film set listening to a sound engineer, hearing her explain that you have to record a few takes of background noise on each shooting location, to mix into the movie later when all you have are the recorded voices and a soundtrack, you’d know more than before.

    You’d be that much better at sound recording.

    So, since you just got better at writing and sound recording, and those two skills make up the multi-disciplined craft of directing, you became a better director. It’s still scary, but you closed the gap – just a little bit.

    Advertising and marketing is no different. There are multiple skills involved.

    • Being a team player
    • Coming up with ideas
    • Determining which ideas have enough merit to pursue
    • Developing those ideas
    • Working with the client (especially if you own your own agency or are an account exec)

    You may even need to know CRM, Graphic Design, Market Research, A/B testing… AAAH!!

    If you get anything out of this post, it should be this: If you find yourself paralyzed with how much farther you have to go in order to achieve your true calling, break that calling down into chunks small enough to handle.

    I am no expert blogger, but if you combine this blog with an earlier blog, and some freelance posts I’ve done helping other businesses, I’ve written over 100 posts! A few years ago, I didn’t think I’d get that far. And I know I’ve got a long way to go!

    So you do. So break it down, and do what you can in a few days, or a week.

    See you later.

  • Top Secret: 3 Free Screenwriting Resources (that I probably shouldn’t show you)

    image by spekulator on sxc.hu
    image by spekulator on sxc.hu

    Psst.

    You want to write a great book?

    Think like a movie writer.

    You want to write a great movie?

    Keep your voice down.

    Check out these free resources. But don’t tell anyone else.

    1. The “Go Into the Story” blog on the blacklist website.

    If you’re even a few months behind me, you’ll be shocked to learn how many of your favorite movies first showed up as scripts on the blacklist. This blog is extremely useful advice for writers, and the blogroll (left side) has links to so many useful sites that your eyes will bleed and your brain will catch fire.

    2. Austin Film Festival Blog

    God forbid, if a meteor crashed into both Burbank and Los Angeles, another city would need to pick up the filmmaking slack. Austin, Texas would be a prime contender. I am a bit biased, though – I live there. This is one of the big screenwriting festivals, so they are able to get guest posts by people in the industry that a lot of other blogs won’t. No comments section, though.

    If you can, come to the next one in October. Look around and you’ll probably see me at some roundtables.

    3. Wordplayer.com –

    My favorite writing site. Don’t let its design fool you. As a cartoon merchant once said: Like so many things it is not what is outside, but what is inside that counts. THIS IS NO ORDINARY LAMP!

    This site has columns by Terry Rossio and Ted Elliot. If those are new names to you, they have written Pirates of the Carribbean, Mask of Zorro, Shrek, Aladdin, and most movies you grew up loving. Each of their articles are eternally useful and never go out of date. I’ve read them all, and plan to go over them again when I finish screenplay #2.

    Can you help me?

    Okay, talking louder now.

    I’m looking for good websites for improving tone and prose for revising my book, which is nearing first draft completion. Can you help? Let me know of any good ones in the comments.

     

  • The Invisible Elements -Creative Marketing and Financing for the Indie Filmmaker

    Want to raise money for an independent film? Elements may be your ticket to success, but you have to do things differently from those who are already established when things get tough. Here, I show how the people around you can help you raise money during preproduction, and market your indie film once it’s made. Enjoy!

    —

    Photo from Jannes at sxc.hu
    Photo from Jannes at sxc.hu

    April 2012, I sat in at the UT film production class. I was new to town, and professor Richard Lewis was one of the few teachers who let people to audit classes. One day, Professor Lewis spoke about attached elements.

    Want to make a great film, one that gets in theatres? You need attached elements.

    -A great script

    -A Producer

    -An A-list actor

    -A director

    Those are elements.

    Why?

    Each of these has a reputation. People know A-list actors and directors for their previous work. Moviegoers know who they are, and will often pay to see a film just because they are involved.

    Producers have standing. When you see a Jerry Bruckheimer film, you know what kind of film you are going to see, and what qualities you can expect. It will be an action film – big stars, a few explosions, a love story, and a few funny one-liners.

    A few strong elements can increase your chance of a successful film. What’s more, you have a greater chance of getting it made in the first place.

    That is how producers make movies.

    Indie filmmakers can benefit from what content marketers already know – everyone can spread an idea.

    Today, a production assistant can have a blog with 10,000 followers. A grip can also be a writer whose work may not yet hit the NYT bestseller list, but has a decent-size audience.

    A casting agent could host events with other actors and agents at a Mexican restaurant every second Wednesday of every month.

    You may not convince Judd Apatow to make your film just because a blogger likes the idea, but it can help you if you’re making an indie film.

    Say you’re raising money for a project on Kickstarter, and there are three DPs who can shoot demos and teasers for your project.

    Should their ‘platform’ and power to spread the word about your film be a factor in which one you hire?

    What if you asked this question to everyone you worked with?

    What if, out of a hundred people, you found ten with a platform of some kind?

    If three can help you raise money, and all ten can spread the work at film fests or to drive online sales, how much better off could you be?

    Maybe this advice is ahead of it’s time – most people don’t have platforms, aren’t marketers, and don’t draw an audience.

    But most aspiring filmmakers fail, so why leave any stone unturned?

    Can you work with someone with a platform who can help you promote/ distribute your next project? Let me know in the comments.